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Showing posts with label Brushes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brushes. Show all posts

Friday, September 24, 2010

Paint Brushes Pt2

So, as I mentioned before, my brushes need some TLC... Or to be retired. Probably the latter.

Here they are, in my handy-dandy brush/sculpting tool carry case!

These were the five I decided to test (since I have a lot of brushes, I didnt feel like taking photos of them all!). Not in useless condition, but not all that great... Actually, I think the tank brush looks about the same as when I bought it.
Here is the product placement! ;) (No, no one paid me to do this, though I am open to offers!).

After! I could have done some during, but between the camera being old and my hands shaking, it was prolly for the better that I didnt.
When I cleaned the tank brush, I was amazed at the amount of gunk that came out. Not really a surprise, this is my "go to" brush when I start projects.
This brush is slightly sentimental, I purchased it from a tiny shop when I was stationed in South Korea. Picture sucks, but it is flaring a whole lot less, and has a while longer left in to serve as a basecoat brush.
Wow, this camera is not happy with me, is it? Three "detail" brushes, and Id be willing to bet that at least one of them is older then someone reading these words. It is hard to tell, but all three of them has enough point on them now to paint Space Marine helmet eyes.

So, how do you use this stuff? Stupid easy. Get your brush cleaning cup of water, fill it with clean (slightly warm) water. Dip your brush in the water, then swirl it around in the soap. Rinse and repeat. I actually repeated about 4-5 times per brush. Afterwards, for a little extra conditioning, I put a little bit of thinned lather on the bristles and left them overnight.

So, what would I rate this stuff? Price was cheap (aside from shipping), it was easy to use, and it actually helped my brushes. The only downside I saw was the pains I went through to actually find it, but that could be entirely attributed to my local stores. Id say four stars out of five.

I dont think it is something I will use after every painting session (because I am lazy), but I could see myself pulling my brushes out once a month and going through them all again.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Paint Brushes Pt1

Confession: I am rough on my brushes. Like, paint all over in the bristles, left in the water for hours (or even days!) on end, and not left end up in the brush holder very often. I also dont swap out my water often enough. Once every 2-3 months or so.

Its amazing that I can paint as well as I do, given the tools at my disposal. So, when I read about brush soap (quite a while back, Ill admit) I was interested. I finally got off my butt and started looking for it a few weeks ago... Michael's didnt have it, kinda surprised me. Hobby Works didnt have it, and when I asked, I got: "The only paint brush soap I know of is "Joy (dish soap)""...

So, I went online. Looking for "brush soap" was a bit of a disaster, so I went back to my reader, and found out it is called Masters Brush Soap. That made the search easier. So, being the slacker I am, I went to the first place that I saw, and ordered a pair of the midsized cans/tins/whatever... And I waited.

I checked my bank every day for a week, and yet they didnt charge me. I started wondering if the order got "mishapped". So, I sent an email, and within a few hours I got a reply saying they had been waiting for a shipment, and that my order should arrive in Maryland by Thursday! (And yes, they charged my account right after that!) So, now I am sitting here hoping to get to work on cleaning my brushes this weekend.

My plan is to get some "before and after" pictures of the brushes, and maybe I will even post them! ;)